Refrigerating apparatus.



F. W. WOLF, JB. & H. SQUTHWORIH.

.RBPRIGERATING APPARATUS.

APFLIQATION'HLBD MAR. 1, 1911.

Patented Dec. 3, 1912.

RNB

LUMLS.

T FFICE.

FRED w. WOLF, Jn.'y AND HARRIsoN H. soU'rHwoR'rH, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGN- ORS TO ICELESS REFRIGERATOR COMPANY, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

REFRIGERATIN G APPARATUS.

Z '0 all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that we, FRED lV. lVoLr, Jr., and HaaiusoN H. SoU-'rnwoR'i'i-i, citizens of the United States, and residents of Chicago, iii the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Refrigerating Apparatus; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which forin a part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain novel features of construction in automatically op- @rating refrigerating apparatus and consists of the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention is shown herein as applied v to an automatic refrigerating apparatus of the alternating absorptiontype, and particularly to such an apparatus asis described iii application filed by us on the lst day of March, 1911, Serial No. 611,560.

The apparatus of the application referred to embraces a refrigerating system provided with two drums constituting generator-absorbers adapted to alternately act as absorbers and stills, and includes a controlling valve adapted for controlling t-he alternate application of heating and cooling means to the said vdrums, which controlling valve depends forits operation upon the tempera ture attained in the drinn which is being heated, when substantially all the ammonia gas has ,been driven therefrom, and upon the back pressure developed in the drum which is being cooled at the time when the liquor contained therein reaches-the desired degree of saturation. The inventiomhowever, as will presently appear, is not limited to this particular apparatus, buumaybeapplied to refrigrating apparatus which isoperated in other Ways. A

In refrigerating apparatus of this generaltype, the absorption drums are connected by a common pipe leading from the refrigerating coils, check valves bein provided at each drum to prevent the It sometimes happens, however, that one of these check valves leaks, with the result that liquor will flow from Specification of yLetters Patent.

Application led March 1, 1911.

n ow of. liquor'back into said pipe and thus from one drum to the other.

Patented Dec. 3, 1912..

serial No. 611,561.

one drum to the other, thus increasing the amount of liquor in that drum above the normal amount it is intended to contain and decreasing the liquor in the other drum a like amount.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and eiiicient means for de-hydratiiig the ammonia gas which is being driven from the drums.

The figure of thedrawing illustrates a vertical elevation through the absorption drums showing t-he controlling valve and valve operating mechanism, and also the several pipe connections in front of the elevation.

A, A1 indicate the absorption drums; B,

B1, water jackets surrounding the same, said .supply pipe E with the gas supply pipe d leading to the burner D, 'and to connect the main water supply pipe G1 to the Water supply .pipe F1, and in the other position to respectively connect the main gas supply pipe E to the gas supply pipe al1 leading to the burner D1, and to connectthe main water supply pipe GrX with the Water supply pipe F.

Gr, G indicate pipes located in the drums A, A1 respectively, closed at their lower ends and connectedkattheir upper ends with diaphragm chainbers'Gd, G1 having diaphragm members G2, G2 operatively connected with levers G3, G3 which they are adapted to raise when a fluid contained in'` one of-sa-id tubes G, G expands under the action of a predetermined temperature in one of said drums to expand one or the other end of the diaphragm members G2, G2.

H indicates a pipe leading from the refrigerating coils and connected by branch pipes H1, H2, respectively, with the drums A, A1.

Said branch pipes contain check said drums A, A1 from passing into said branchv pipes. A

. located in the gas supply pipe (Z1 between.

' vention, needs no description.

I is a branch pipe connected with the pipe I-I leading to a diaphragm chamber I1 having a.diaphrag1n I2 which is adapted to actuate a lever I3 when the back pressure in said pipe reaches 'a predetermined point.- y

-K, K1 indicate flexible members in the form of ropes or light chains, one of which,

K has an end fixed to one of the levers G3, and vits other' end iixed to a' lever I3 and which is looped about a pulley carried by a pulley block lo and the other of which, k1 has one end lixed to the other lever G3, and its opposite end fixed to the lever I3, and which isv looped about a pulley carried by a pulley block k1. Said pulley blocks are connected by links Ic?,- /c3 to weights 7:1, 705,

said links passing through apertures in crank arms les, icl, which are connected to -the movable member of thecontrolling valve H". 4

m indicates an auxiliary controlling valve located in the gas supply pipe d between the main controlling valve I-IX and the burnerv D and n represents a similar valve the main controlling valve and the burner I)1. Said valves are adapted to be closed by crank arms m1 and n1 respectively, said crank arms being provided with weights'm2, n1, and being connected by links M, N, as indicated at M1, N1, to the levers G3, G3.

The mechanism thus .tar described for controlling the alternate application of the cooling and heating Vmeans. t-o the absorption drums, is substantially like that described in the application above referred to, and as it forms no part of ythe present in- As above stated, the invention is notlifnited to an apparatus as herein, the control of thercooling and heating means and of the alternate application ofsaid means to the 4absorption drums is operated as in the apparatus described in said application.V

J, J1 indicate vertical lpipes located respectively in the drums A, A1 and connected at their lowerends with pipes J2, J 3 which extend through the drums and their respective jackets and are there connected with a pipe Jx leading to the condensing coils (not shown). Near the top of eachpipe at a predetermined level, which is the maximum level desired for the liquor in each of said drums to attain, fis, located a small hole or opening y', j1. Said pipes J, J1 are preferably extended above this point to a level .near the top of their respective drums and are there connected to delector or bailleplates L, L1 through which they` open. In

the pipes J2, Ja are located c ck valves 72, j, which open outward and Will permit aflow from each ot the pipes J, J1 toward the pipe J2 but will prevent a flow in the opposite direction.

The casings forming the water jackets B, B1 are each extended above their respective drums A, A1 and the top walls a, a1 of said drums are extended radially beyond said drums and closed against the inner wall of said jackets. By this construction, chambers b, b1 are formed above the respective drums. The chamber b is connected by a pipe b2 with the jackets surrounding the drum A1, While the chamber b1 above the drum A1 is connected by a pipe. b? With the jackets surrounding the drum A.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: Assume the controlling valve in that position shown inthe drawing, in which the main gas supply pipe is connected with the piped so as to direct the gas into the burner I), and the main Water supply pipe GX connected to the pipe F1, which is adapted to direct the supply of cooling water into the chamber b above the tank A, and whence it will flow through the pipe 721 into the jacket B1'surrounding the absorption drum A1. AWith the parts in this relation. we have the drum A being heated and the drum A1 being cooled; at the same time the top wall u. of the drum A is also being cooled. As the gas is driven from the liquor in the -drum A it passes up about the 'de- Hector. or battle-plate L, and byl reason` ot the location of said baille-plate near the top wall of said drum is forced into contact iwith said cold top Wall of the drum in its passage toward and into the upper open end of the pipe J, which it must seek as the only practical exit. The contact with the cold wall a condenses the water in the am nionia gas and'thus tends to cle-hydrate it before it passes into the pipe J.

'lVhenthe strong liquor in the drum A or ,A1 begins to be heated and the pressure therein rises above the pressure of the condenser, should any of said liquor rise above the level of the opening ,7' or y'1 in the pipes J or J1, as the case may be, it will pass through said opening into the said'pipe J or J1 and thus pass out into said pipe with the ammonia gas to the condensing coils and thence to the receiver. From there it will ultimately Work its way through the refrigerating coils back tothe other drum', which is at low'pressure and able lto receive it, and thus tend to maintain a like net amount of liquor in each` of `said drums. It is to be noted that the openings j and j1 when the .baille-plate is used, are made quite small so lVhile We have shown the two features. of our invention in 'conjunction in the same' apparatus, it is apparent that either may be used Without the other, the extension of the pipes J, J2 above the level of the openings j, jl being required only when the two eatures are thus conjointly used,l as described.

We claim'as our inventionl. In a refrigerating apparatusof the alternating absorption type, including generator-absorbers arranged in pairs, means for heating and cooling said generator-absorbers in alternation, condensation coils, and a conduit adapted for leading the expanded ammonia gas to each of said generator-absorbers, means for conducting the ammonia gas from each generator-absorber to said co-ndensation coils, said means being provided with an opening for the discharge of liquor With said ammonia gas When the liquor in the generator-absorber rises to a predeter mined level.

2. In a refrigerating apparatus of the al ternating absorption type including generator-absorbers arranged in pairs, means for heating and cooling said generator-absorb ers in alternation, condensation coils, and a conduit adapted for leading the expanded ammonia gas to each ofsaid generator-absorbers, means for discharging the ammonia gas from said generator-absorbers to the condensation coils comprising an upright pipe located in each generator-absorber,said pipes being provided with means for the outflow of liquor When the level thereof rises ab'ov'e a predetermined point, said pipes eX- tending through the Walls of said generatorabsorbers at points near the bottom thereof, and means provided in said pipe to prevent a return How therethrough.

8. In a refrigerating apparatus of the alternating absorption type including ,f lgenera-` tor-absorbers arranged in pairs, means for alternately heating and cooling said generator-absorbers, condensation coils, and a conduit adapted for leading the expanded ammonia gas to each of said generator-absorbers, means for discharging the ammonia gas from said generator-absorbers to the condensation coils comprising an upright pipe located in each generator-absorber, and rovided with an aperture at a predetermined level, one end of each'pipe extending to a "point near the top of the generatorsabsorber,

and .the other end extending through the Wall of said generator-absorber near the bottom, a baiie-plate located in each generator- "absorber, near the top thereof, each of said pipes opening at its upper end through an associated vbaffle-plate, a common discharge pipe to which said first-named pipes are connected, means located in said pipes to prevent back flow from said common discharge pipe, a Water chamber `on top of each generator-absorber, and means for supplying cooling Water to said Water chamber of each generator-absorber While said generator-absorber is being heated. p

4. In a refrigerating apparatus of the a1- ternating absorption type including generator-absorbers arranged iny pairs, means for alternately heating and cooling said generator-absorbers, condensation coils, and a conduit adapted for leading the expanded ammonia gas to each of said generator-absorbers, means for discharging the ammonia gas from said generator-absorbers to the condensation coils comprising an upright pipe located in each generator-absorber, one end of each pipe extending to a point near the top of the generator-absorber and the other end extending through the wall of said generator-absorber near the bottom, a baiileplate located in each generator-absorber near the top thereof, each of said pipes opening at its upper end through an associatedlmilieplate, a common discharge pipe to which said first-named pipes Yare connected, means located in said pipes to prevent back fiow from said common discharge pipe, a water 'chamber on top of each generator-absorber, and means for supplying cooling water to said Water chamber of each generator-absorber while said generator-absorber is being heated.

In testimony that We claim the foregoing as our invention we aiix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses this Sth day of February, A. D. 1911.

' FRED W. WOLF, Jn.

HARRISON H. -SOUTHlVOR-TH. Witnesses:

T. H. ALFREDS,

GEORGE R. WILKINS. 

